Lily plant named Haley

ABSTRACT

A new and distinct variety of Oriental hybrid lily cultivar characterized particularly by its medium height and large, semi-upright to outward facing flowers of rich magenta rose coloration carried on ascending pedicels forming a compact raceme, flowering profusely in late July under field conditions in northern California and western Oregon and having a vigorous growth habit.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

This new variety of lily plant originated as a seedling of unknownparentage discovered by me at my nursery at Arcata, Calif. Its verylarge and richly colored flowers promted me to propagate this new plantfor further evaluation by bulb scale propagation methods with verysatisfactory results. Successive generations of this new plant producedby propagation from bulblets and division, as well as by tissue cultureoriginating from bulb scales, have demonstrated that the novel anddistinctive characteristics of this new lily variety hold true fromgeneration to generation and appear to be firmly fixed.

This new plant retains its large flower size and ascending pedicels, aswell as good flower and bud color, when forced into flower out ofseason. Bulbs which have been dug at the proper stage of maturity andare properly precooled can be forced into flower out of season with areliable performance, even during periods of relatively low light.

DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING

This new variety of lily plant is illustrated by the accompanyingphotographic drawing, which shows the form and coloration of its large,bowl-shaped flowers, the color rendition being as nearly true as can bereasonably obtained by conventional photographic procedures.

DESCRIPTION OF THE NEW VARIETY

The following is a detailed description of my new variety of Orientalhybrid lily, with nomenclature according to The International LilyRegister (The Royal Horticultural Society, London, 1969), and with colordesignations according to The R.H.S. Colour Chart published in 1966. Theobservations were made on greenhouse grown plants at Sandy, Oreg., inthe spring of 1985, and on field grown plants at Arcata, Calif., in thesummer of 1985.

THE PLANT

Origin: Seedling.

Parentage: Unknown.

Classification:

Botanic.--Hybrid lilium cultivar, Division VII-B of The HorticulturalClassification of Lilies (The Royal Horticultural Society, 1969).

Commercial.--Oriental Hybrid Lily.

Form: Single stem, erect and bushy.

Height: 69 to 90 cm.

Growth: Compact, sturdy and vigorous.

Foliage:

Quantity.--Abundant.

Leaf size.--Ranging from 12 cm. long and 3 cm. wide at the top of thestem to 5 cm. long and 2 cm. wide at the bottom of the stem.

Leaf shape.--Broad lanceolate.

Texture.--Leathery.

Aspect.--Glossy.

Color.--Dark green (chlorophyll pigmentation overlaid with anthocyanin).

Bulbs:

Size.--Up to 30 cm. in circumference depending upon age.

Color.--White, with flushes of soft pink or yellow which deepen as thebulbs become larger or are exposed to light.

THE BUD

Form: Ovate with obtuse tip.

Size: About 10 to 12 cm. long and about 10 cm. in circumference,depending upon light and nutritional levels.

Opening rate: The bud opens slowly in response to morning light; thebuds open successively from the lowermost to the uppermost as is typicalwith lilium.

Color: The buds are basically cream-white to softest pink with ribs ofmedium magenta rose 63C-D just before the buds open, the base colorshading to a softer tone at the tips of the buds.

Peduncle:

Length.--About 2 to 3 cm.; may elongate under low light conditions orwhen bulbs have been improperly stored prior to forcing.

Color.--Dark green.

THE FLOWER

Blooming habit: The flowers bloom profusely and once in midseason,flowering late in July under field conditions at Arcata, Calif. Thisplant will flower in 95 to 110 days in greenhouse when properly forcedfrom appropriately precooled bulbs.

Size: Large; averaging 18 to 20 cm. in diameter, the tepals recurving toprovide a bloom 15 to 16 cm. wide. The recurved tepals form a bowl about3.5 to 4.5 cm. deep.

Borne: In a compact raceme with each pedicel bearing one bud. Bulbs oftypical commercial size bear an average of five to eight flowers.

Shape: Generally bowl-shaped with broad tepals, slightly recurved and inhexagonal arrangement.

Tepalage:

Number.--Six.

Arrangement.--Imbricated.

Form.--The tepals are generally ovate with the inner tepals averagingabout 6 cm. wide and the outer tepals averaging about 3 cm. wide. Theinner tepals overlap only slightly and, in general, the tepalagearrangement is very regular.

Color.--The basic color is red purple 63A-B with a deeper band of 53Babout 2 to 3 mm. wide along the midrib shading through 63A-B to 63Calong the margin, which is white, the white margin tapering from about 4to 5 mm. wide at the tepal apex to about 1 mm. wide at the base. Thetepal margins are only slightly frilled and the nectaries are green witha yellow margin about 1 to 2 mm. wide. The papillae are 63B in color andare distributed over the entire colored area of the tepals.

Color change.--The basic color fades slightly and becomes more brown asthe flower ages or in intense light and heat. Under cool conditions, thecolor is richer and retained longer.

Tepal longevity.--The tepals stay on the stem about two to three weeks.

Pedicel:

Length.--About 7 to 8 cm.

Color.--Dark green, ascending at a 45° angle from the stem.

Disease resistance: The flower and the plant appear to be adequatelyresistent to disease as observed at Sandy, Oreg., and at Arcata, Calif.

Fragrance: The fragrance is heavy and sweet.

Lasting quality: The flower is long lasting on both field grown plantsand forced potted specimens.

REPRODUCTIVE ORGANS

Stamens:

Number.--Six.

Arrangement.--Typical of genus lilium.

Anthers:

Length.--About 20 mm.

Color.--Greyed red 179A-B.

Filaments:

Length.--About 7 to 8 cm.

Color.--Soft green to white.

Pistils:

Number.--One per flower.

Stigma:

Size.--Large.

Color.--Soft purple-grey.

Style:

Color.--Light green to white, sometimes slightly pink.

Ovary: Typical of genus lilium.

I claim:
 1. A new and distinct variety of hybrid Oriental lily,substantially as herein shown and described, characterized by itsoutwardly facing, richly colored flowers of large size, good substanceand form, in a raceme of ascending pedicels, and by its vigorous growthhabit and medium height.